I'm not saying you guys are wrong here but the reason the Provincial Government won't directly kick in money to fund the arena is because the optics of it are bad. Alberta has been running a deficit for a few years and they keep cutting education and healthcare budgets. It doesn't look too good to fund a hockey arena for a billionaire and millionaire athletes when they're shutting down schools. It doesn't matter what the actual truth of the situation is, nor does it matter that taxpayer dollars get spent (sometimes wasted) on a bunch of other entertainment venues and private subsidies that don't generate the same kind of income the arena will (for the province and the city) because the media just blows it out of proportion.

Add the optics of potbelly politics with the Katz group's illegal political donation to the provincial ruling government.

Add too that this sets up the billionaire Flames ownership's Me Too run at Alberta tax payer dollars.

The province has a $4 billion deficit and facing issues with teachers, post secondary cuts, pharmacists and others. Not enough oil & gas pie to go around. Hard choices required and priorities on what best supports collective province wide needs.